


No Great Men

by Pyralis_Anacreon



Category: Temeraire - Naomi Novik
Genre: AU, Alternate History, Gen, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-07
Updated: 2013-04-07
Packaged: 2017-12-07 17:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/751108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyralis_Anacreon/pseuds/Pyralis_Anacreon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A historical account of the end of the Napoleonic wars: by someone who wasn't there and a very old dragon who was.</p><p>Napoleon won the war. Only one person is asking what happened to William Laurence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Great Men

_No great men live in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men._ \- Thomas Carlyle

 

_It is difficult to say whether William Laurence, captain of the last Celestial Temeraire, knew what he was doing when he gave the cure to the Dragon Plague to Napoleon Bonaparte. If he knew that he was handing victory over to the Emperor, and at the same time forever securing himself a place in the Empire. Grenwich (Grenwich, A Good Man) seems to believe that this was unintentional, a consequence of more honorable intentions. There is of course the more skeptical, realistic opinion: that Laurence was always playing both sides._

   -   Walter Raleigh, Napoleon's Wars

 

Katarine Grenwich was not a famous name, but it would be. She was determined to make it so. She'd had articles in the New York Times and major publications across six continents. Entire bodies of her work had been translated into Russian, Spanish, French, Norwegian, Chinese. In the right circles, they spoke her name with admiration.

She wanted to break out of these circles; she wanted people in rural homes to discuss her over breakfast, to be forced to think differently because of her words. She was renowned in certain areas, and she would be renowned in all of them soon enough.

With just this one interview.

The pavilion was huge, but not as big as some of the communal ones she'd seen before. It was just large enough for one dragon, a heavy-weight, to live in comfortably. It was splendid white marble and red stucco roof, turned up at the corners. Half in the Chinese style, half in the British adaptation. She stopped and waited outside. The inhabitant knew she was there.

"Come in." the deep voice called, gravelly at the basest note with disuse.

Katarine stepped inside, and swallowed the slight thrill of adrenaline. She was as accustomed to dragons as any post-Napoleonic country, but she'd never been quite this close, to a dragon quite this big.

His scales had only grown darker with age, though the ones around his eyes and snout had faded. The tendrils hanging from his jaws were almost pure white with age, but his eyes were clear and intelligent. Age had softened his claws but sharpened his mind. The last Celestial was old.

"My name is Katarine Grenwich." Katarine introduced, blustering through her awkwardness. She bowed low.

"I suppose you want to know about the war?" Temeraire said, lowering his head so that she didn't have to crane her neck. His tail swept a chair out from the corner, sliding it in place in front of her.

Katarine sat, pulling out her recorder. She had come to ask about the war, but suddenly it occurred to her, from the great weariness in his tone, that everyone else had already covered it. The wars had been done. No one wanted to hear about them, and this dragon did not want to talk about them.

"No," she said thoughtfully. "Actually I would like for you to tell me about your captain."

 

_Temeraire, also known as Lung Tien Xiang to the Chinese and the last Celestial to the modern world, is a famous name. He is written about in even the most basic history texts. Children memorize his name and deeds for tests. But in all of those books, his first and only captain is but a footnote. His name is almost lost to history, except to those devoted scholars who studied the Napoleon Wars in detail. And these scholars find something peculiar: the name William Laurence has been almost buried. So thoroughly scrubbed that it could only be deliberate._

_I did not read those books for this article. I went straight to the source._

   -   Katarine Grenwich, A Good Man

 

"Most people do not ask me about Laurence." Temeraire said thoughtfully. In the corner of her eye Katarine saw his tail twitching thoughtfully. He sighed.

"Why is that?" she asked.  "Surely someone before me thought to ask about him. He did raise you through your formative years."

Temeraire's lips peeled back in a sharp smile. "Most people do not remember that I had formative years. Long ago there were people who knew I had been young once… but I have outlived them, and they were afraid to ask."

"Why should they be afraid to ask?"

"Because Laurence changed the world. But he sacrificed his honor in the process, at least in their eyes. In his own eyes, he only ever did the right thing."

"That is one thing - one thing we know he did. He brought the cure to France when England would have seen the rest of the world's dragons die. Can you tell me why?"

Temeraire fell silent for so long she thought he might refuse to answer. But then, "He did it because it was the right thing to do. People said that he betrayed his country, but I do not believe he did. He acted for the good of all men and dragons. That must overrule the needs of even one's homeland, don't you think? Some lines ought not be crossed. This one they did."

"Tell me about your journeys with him. I understand that you traveled the world, quite unwillingly in some cases."

"First there was China - they wished to have me back, but I would not go. Laurence was made a prince there so that I could be allowed to stay with him. It was there that we decided to improve conditions for dragons everywhere. Next we fled through Europe, picking up Iskierka. We followed Lien, who was mad with grief over her prince's death. Laurence saw Napoleon on the summit; I don't think he ever told anyone else. He was within shooting distance. Sometimes, he was so filled with regret that he did not shoot the Emperor then.

"Next was the Dragon Plague, and the cure in Africa. Our captains were all captured, and we searched the interior until we found them. While we looked, they brought Laurence out and told him to fix their maps, and give up information on Britain and Europe and the slave trade. When he refused, they beat him almost to death. He never told anyone about that, either. When we learned what the Admiralty had done, Laurence tried for a moment to justify it. He did not want to believe that such evil existed within the hearts of men. But he saw what they had done, and he joined me in bringing the cure.

"For a time I thought Laurence dead; I recall spending those weeks in a kind of haze. I wanted only to make things bleed. I wanted so badly to hurt something. But I had control because I knew Laurence would not want me to go rampaging, and I brought my bloodlust to bear on Napoleon, to great effect. When I found Laurence alive I determined never to lose him again. We were sent south, to Australia, and then to South America where Laurence made peace, though no one liked it very much.

"We made it back to England in time for the surrender, and Napoleon's final victory."

 

_William Laurence has been forgotten, and I hope to rectify this. I hope to show you what Temeraire showed me: the tale of a man who knew what was right and what was wrong, and in the face of impossible odds and deathly threats did nothing less than the right thing. Laurence grew up in an abolitionist household, instilling within him the firm belief that all thinking creatures should be free. He also grew up under an honor code, but unlike many men he did not bend it to suit his whims. He said often that he would rather die with honor than live without, and it was this that drove him back to England and to certain death after his first traitorous act._

_All of this makes him a singularly unique man for his time, when evil ran rampant in war, and it was so easy to cross lines. All of this and more can account for William Laurence's actions following England's surrender. Until I spoke to Temeraire, I did not understand why his name was to be struck from the record._

   -   Katarine Grenwich, A Good Man

 

"We came sailing into England on a dragon transport stolen from Napoleon; I cannot remember its name now. We landed in the covert and Laurence was hurried off by some other aviators, to see Jane Roland. He had been restored to rank and wasn't in danger of being hung anymore, so I wasn't particularly worried. Mostly I was tired of fish and wanted to have a cow or two. Laurence returned while I was sleeping. When I woke up, and saw him… he looked as though he had been struck.

"I asked him what was the matter, had they taken away his captain's bars again, had there been a battle - and he said yes, there had been. Napoleon had smashed up the Russians, treaty be damned, and had turned around and made peace with the colonies in America. Britain stood alone against him. Laurence had been flown to London on a courier, and sat in on three talks.

"While I was sleeping, England had surrendered."

 

_England's surrender to Napoleon has been recorded a hundred times over. It was conditional, of course. Despite being alone against Napoleon England was strong, and had already proven her ability to drive him out. Both went to the table with good cards, but Napoleon of course had a trump: he was very willing to go to war again, and confident in his chances of winning; something that could not be said for England._

_When they came away from the negotiating tables, much remained the same. England remained. But she stood down her armies and her Navy, and she submitted to the rule of the Emperor. Napoleon won._

   -   Katarine Grenwich, A Good Man

 

"During the first invasion, when Napoleon attempted to settle into England for a long war, Laurence… lost himself for a little while. He lost sight of who he was. He knew what the right thing was, the honorable thing - but when they told him that he was not worthy of honor any more, he believed them. He believed himself capable of monstrous things.

"Eventually he remembered who he was. Both times, he remembered. But sometimes, I wish he had not."

 

_Laurence answered the summons in full regalia, decorated Chinese sword strapped to his side over his best green coat. Not a thing out of place in his dress. It was, he thought, a bit like the armor knights used to wear into battle. He was dressed to stand in front of the Emperor._

_Temeraire curled fitfully at his back, making worried noises and shielding Laurence from Lien's view._

_Laurence looked up, beckoning Temeraire's attention. When the great head came down to his level, one huge eye focused on him, he put both hands on the snout and closed his eyes._

_"I am sorry," he said, "for what is about to happen."_

_Temeraire tried to ask what Laurence meant, but he was walking away. Down the path, towards where Napoleon waited, half-turned away from them. At twelve paces Laurence reached up to fix his cravat. At eleven, he pulled the pistol from inside his coat. At ten, he leveled it with Napoleon's head and said, "Face me."_

_Napoleon turned leisurely, unaware at first. Then he saw: the pistol, the resolution on Laurence's face, the way Temeraire's body shielded them in a half circle from the eyes of all._

_The shot was there. At ten paces he could not have missed. Napoleon had not drawn, it was not fair or honorable - but damn him. Damn him._

_Laurence's hand trembled on the pistol. Napoleon said nothing._

_He said nothing._

_Laurence released his breath and lowered the pistol, his shoulders slumping at the same time. In a moment he shrank, from the impressive soldier with all the power of the world in his hands to just a man, defeated and unable to take even this crooked victory. Napoleon closed the distance between them, Temeraire tensing up in preparation, and gently took the pistol from Laurence' slackened grip._

_"That is not the kind of man you are." the Emperor said. "I would do such a thing. I have. But not you."_

_"That is my weakness." Laurence intoned dully, still looking down. Temeraire had never seen him so defeated. It was unnerving to see, and he wanted to look away. He did not._

_Napoleon's hands went to Laurence's shoulders - the pistol went clattering to the ground, forgotten - and slid inward. With his thumbs he forced Laurence's head to tilt up, their gazes to meet. "That is your strength," Napoleon Bonaparte said. "That is why I want you by my side."_

 

Temeraire was silent for a long moment after he finished recounting the event. Then: "I never told anyone about that before. I didn't think anyone would care to see what it meant. Napoleon is revered now as a great leader who brought Europe together and did more for equal rights for men and dragons than anyone else in history. But before, after the wars, the only thing people cared about was how he conquered them, and forced them to change their ways. People do not easily forgive the men who make them change.

"They never forgave Laurence. Their last revenge, I think, was in forgetting him; causing him to be forgotten."

 

_If you know where to look, you can track William Laurence's travels in the world before the end of the wars. There are mentions of him in half a dozen works published at the time. Travel records, trade logs, and records of military orders put him on every continent excepting Antarctica. What we don't have are the records of what happened to him after the war. I am here to give you an answer, fifty years too late._

_William Laurence was tired of war. He saw the end of it - and it was not the one he would have chosen, but he did not presume to change the course of history alone. He presumed to do it instead as confidante and counsel to the first and only Emperor. He took no title, no lands, and no recognition. He took a place at Napoleon's left hand, at Napoleon's ear, and changed the world from there. Napoleon, often pictured as flanked by two Celestials, different as night and day, could only lay claim to one of them.  These paintings never show the man in Bonaparte's shadow, in the green coat, with a captain's bars and a sword at his side._

_William Laurence was lost to us before now, but I hope that with this he shall be remembered not only as a great man, but a good one._

   -   Katarine Grenwich, A Good Man

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! Okay, so in some parts where Temeraire is recounting his travels it gets really vague. This is about half lazyness and half the fact that nobody really likes reading an in depth summary of events they already saw happen, in much greater detail. So I kind of just skimmed that bit.
> 
> The half-intellectual format of this, the excerpt type things, were inspired by the SGA fic Written by the Victors, by Speranza. If you are even remotely into the SGA fandom and have not yet read that fic, go do so. It is so much better than what I did here. 
> 
> And, um, if anyone got flashes of homoeroticism during Laurence and Napoleon's interactions in the flashback scene.... I swear that slipped in by accident. I didn't mean to start shipping them.


End file.
